You Can Help Me Just Once
by The Cruel Mistress
Summary: Miles helps Franziska with some law work.


"Miles!"

"Yes?"

"Help me." Franziska ordered, pushing a piece of paper towards him as he stepped into the kitchen doorway.

"Franziska, I'm _busy_." He puffed, turning around to head back to the von Karma study down the hall.

"Miles get back over here!" She snapped, knocking a fist against the dining table.

"What?" Miles snapped back, arms folded across his chest. He hung lightly on the door frame, his forehead crinkled in annoyance.

"I," she proclaimed cooly, "would like some help." Franziska held up a finger, her elbow resting on the wooden table. She wagged it at Miles as he came over to her.

"I thought you didn't need help from anyone." He retaliated, standing beside her and leaning on a pushed in chair. Looking up at him, she bit her lip in displeasure.

"Is it possible you could explain this to me?" She muttered darkly, holding the piece of paper up to him.

It was a thick cut paper, not bending under his grip. A paragraph, the third on the sheet, had brackets on either side.

"The holiday rule?" Miles mumured questionatively, scanning the long paragraph. Franziska drug a hand through her lightly dyed hair.

"Yes."

"This took me a while to figure out myself." Franziska looked up at him, a small satisfied smile on her face that this didn't only happen to her.

"Well," he added, "just a little longer than usual." He wasn't purposely implying anything, but Franziska huffed and crossed her arms moodily.

"I will get it as quick as you as soon as you tell me it, you fool!"

"Would you like me to explain or not, Franziska?" Miles gritted his teeth, peering down at her.

"Yes." She puffed, trying to keep the irritated look on her face, but her lip quivered in fear that perhaps he _wouldn't_ tell her and that she'd have to ask her Papa. Mr. von Karma was never exactly _pleased_ when she couldn't understand something. Usually he would explain it, or rather _repeat_ the exact words she was confused with and then leave her, still half in confusion, alone.

Franziska looked up at him, a sudden urgency giving her a blank expression.

"Listen now." Miles said firmly, then was silent for a while, reading the paragraph completely. Franziska simply looked at the wall, her chin in her hand. When Miles spoke again, Franziska started. She hastily drug her hand through her hair again and looked back up at him. "Court workers have Saturdays and Sundays off." He looked back at the paper and continued, "They work through the week and save the weekends for themselves. Anyways-"

"They should still be required to work on Saturdays and Sundays. We don't need lazy workers now... do... we?" Franziska swallowed hard as Miles crossed his arms across his chest. "Continue." She breathed.

"If a holiday, say Christmas, falls on a Saturday, the day the court workers have off, then they also have Friday off." Miles licked his lips then said, "And if Christmas were to fall on a Sunday, then they would have Monday off." He angled his head down to look at Franziska, who's face was so utterly confused, he felt sorry for her.

"Miles, I don't understand." Her lips formed a tight frown and brows were knit together. Looking away, Miles was silent.

"Wait..." He stared down hard at the paper, his eyes slits. "Let us say that someone were to work at a-a convenience store." Still looking up at him, she nodded. "I would work Monday through Friday. But- He held a finger up to the side of his head, waving it back and forth, "if, let's say Thanksgiving now, was on a Saturday, I would get to have one extra day off, Friday. And then if Thanksgiving was on Sunday the next year, I would get that holiday, Saturday _and_ Monday off."

Franziska began to smile as Miles nodded, looking to the side. "Do you understand now, Ms. von Karma?"

"I just made you explain just to make sure you knew it too." Franziska smiled wickedly up at him, her chin back on her hand.

Miles glared at her, his lips pursed. "You and I _both_-" The creaking of a door behind them interrupted him. "You and I both know-" He whispered hastily, trying to start again before Mr. von Karma came into the room, but Franziska leapt out of her chair, almost ramming it into Miles's thigh.

"_Papa! Have you ever heard of the holiday rule?_"


End file.
